The challenges of fulfilling SDG 6 for cleaner water and sanitation, from a multi-stakeholder perspective: A case study of water sustainability in the Jordanian - mining industry

This study investigated the challenges of accessing clean and sanitary water that could hinder the fulfillment of sustainable development goal (SDG) 6 in Jordan. The focus of the study is the mining industry.
With regard to the mining industry, the study explored the discourse surrounding the adoption of sustainable water-related practices through the Gramsci (1971) notion of cultural hegemony and the Mitchell et al. (1997) stakeholder framework. Jointly, their work comprises a theoretical framework, which is posited here to enable the integration of multiple voices at the micro, meso, and macro levels.
For the methodology, the study used a case study design, with an in-depth analysis of two major extractive organisations representing the mineral-mining industry in Jordan. The study also adopted multiple qualitative methods that enriched understanding of the multi-fractured and complex nature of water cleanliness and sanitation. Twenty semi-structured interviews, four focus groups, and three observation records were employed to gather relevant data. In this way, the study embraced methodological triangulation to reveal various understandings, perspectives, and dimensions of sustainability.
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was employed to analyse the data. CDA focuses on the influence of texts and discursive practices on social practices (Fairclough, 1989). This study highlights how knowledge is mediated through language that not only reflects stakeholders’ ideologies, perceptions, and opinions but can also be constructed to conceal economic interests at the expense of the adoption of more water-sustainable practices. Most importantly, not only might other stakeholders’ voices be silenced, but dominant discourses might justify the adoption of unsustainable practices, which poses the question of whether SDG 6 could ever be achieved under the current conditions.
This study attempted to show how the national government and extractive organisations might be constructing a culturally intuitive, appealing, and persuasive discourse to advance their social and material interests. This could hinder the fulfillment of SDG 6.4 on water use and scarcity, as well as SDG 6.5 on water-resource management.
Unpacking the discourse concerning other stakeholders, this study unravels parties that might be ideologically consenting to the hegemonic discourse established by the dominant stakeholders – namely, the national government and the extractive industries. These stakeholders legitimise water-related operations and practices that might be unsustainable in the long-term, but which produce desirable and problematic outcomes in Jordan. In this way, they might hinder the fulfillment of SDG 6.3 on water quality and wastewater, as well as SDG 6.6 on the ecosystem.
This study found that, of the various SDG 6 targets, SDG 6.6 on the ecosystem (which incorporates SDG 6.a.1 on international cooperation and SDG 6.b.1 on stakeholder participation) is essential for achieving the other SDGs. At the national level, the study found that international cooperation between the national government, international organisations, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the private sector may be necessary to achieve better practices concerning water use and scarcity (SDG 6.4), water quality, and wastewater (SDG 6.3), and water-resource management (SDG 6.5). Furthermore, these efforts need to be supported by increased stakeholder participation, which might bring to light sustainable water-related practices useful for achieving the SDG 6 targets at the industrial and local levels.